We had three trips to Nelson Bay in January. The first trip was about 9am to drop our daughter off for a few days with friends. We set out about 9am in our 4.8 metre half cabin and it took about 20 minutes.
There is nowhere at the marina to tie up the boat for a couple of hours, so we used the drop off point on the wharf adjacent to the Tea Gardens ferry. One of us stayed with the boat whilst the other went up and bought some take away coffees. Just as well that we took our time as our daughter was a day early and ended up coming back with us. We had ideas of a bit of fishing, but unfortunately the wind had picked up and it was a bit unpleasant on a rocking boat. Fortunately, the wind was from the east, so the trip back was reasonably smooth.
The next day we repeated the trip. The wind was quite strong and it was a very uncomfortable ride to Nelson Bay. It took about half an hour this time as we bumped across the waves. We had another coffee whilst we checked that our daughter’s friends had turned up, before heading back to North Arm Cove.
Our next trip was a few days later when we decided to go for an early evening fishing trip. Unfortunately, the wind kept blowing and even in Salamander Bay we could not find a smooth patch of water. After catching and releasing quite a few undersized fish, we decided to have an ice cream at Nelson Bay. This time the public wharf was full, so we pulled up on the sand. The problem with pulling up on the sand is that there is nowhere to secure the boat, so again one of us had to stay with the boat. There is a line of tables and chairs along the retaining wall above the sand and there were lots of families eating take away- a good idea for a future trip.
We travelled back just as the sun was setting and we took some beautiful sunset photos across Salamander Bay. We have learnt our lesson about travelling back to North Arm Cove in the evening. At some angles and times of the year, the setting sun can make it very difficult to see where you are going if you are heading west. On this trip, it was nearly dark by the time we arrived back. We did not have the problem of the setting sun, but it was very dark and difficult to see the moored yachts and the crab pot floats out on the water, let alone the oyster racks. We just went slowly with a strong torch to light our way. I think that you need to know your waterway reasonably well if you intend to be out after dark.
We enjoyed all our trips to Nelson Bay, but it would be nice if there was somewhere at the marina where we could leave our boat whilst we shopped and found some food. There are a couple of public berths at the public wharf for 24 hour stays, but these are in high demand. In the past, we have refuelled when they are not busy and asked if we could leave the boat for a while, but this is not an option in January. If you would like to hop off the boat and have a meal, then Tea Gardens, Soldiers Point and Lemon Tree Passage are much better destinations as there is room at the public wharves and jetties to leave your boat for a short period.
